Together
by Novella Vialli
Summary: Carl brings along his niece on the expedition. Josh/OC Follows the movie plot, all that's different is how I've added my OC around in the story. Guys, I've completed the story, now all that's left is the reviews and i will promptly start posting the rest of the chapters. Read and review! I hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it! :
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.

**Chapter 1**

"Uncle Carl, is it really okay for me to be here? I could have stayed at a friend's house. I know it wasn't fair of my parents to dump me on you guys while they went to discover themselves again." I exclaimed.

"Honestly Darya, how many times to I have to tell you, I am far too young for the title of Uncle. Just Carl would be lovely. And where my brother is concerned, for another thousand times, it's fine. Look at it this way. You can discover yourself here." Carl replied. Well, he was young, but it was weird to just call him Carl.

"Sure, whatever you say, Carl." I rolled my eyes and looked outside the plane window. We were just touching ground or water, whatever you wanted to call it.

"Come on Darya, it'll be fun. Plus I hear Josh Maguire is your age." Victoria claimed with a twinkle in her eyes. Please tell me she wasn't trying to play matchmaker. Ugh! Where did Carl find her?

"Whoa! There will be none of that!" Carl retorted. But Victoria just winked at me and turned back to face the front.

Don't get me wrong. I love Victoria. She is super fun to hang out with and since I love the adventure, we both get along like sisters. In fact I think of her as an older sister, but sometimes she gets these weird ideas in her head, and I'm usually the person she experiments with.

Papua New Guinea, not a proper airport, but from the looks of it was a small market place. Smells of fish and spices wafted into my nose as the plane door opened and Carl like a young child walked out first. He was excited, that's the least you could say. And of course because he was billionaire he wasn't used to doing stuff for himself, which meant Victoria and I were left to pick up his stuff. Scratch that. Victoria too walked out and left me the remaining luggage. Even though we were travelling extremely light, it was far too much for a seventeen year old girl.

I stumbled across the deck with the bags. "Honestly you guys. The least you could have done was pick up your stuff. Great way to treat your niece, Carl." I swatted away y bangs from my eyes and squinted up at them. Carl was just introducing Victoria to a boy my age. I think it was safe to say that said boy was Josh, because Victoria seemed to be acting like a fan. Putting the charm on and all.

"You must be Frank Maguire's son, Josh Maguire. Wow! You must be lucky that your father brings you along on all his expeditions?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, loads lucky." Josh replied with an unsure smile and turned towards me.

"Oh and that is Darya, my niece." Carl remarked and I stuck out my hand to shake. His hands were strong. You could tell. The minute they touched mine, I made note of a few things. Like his firm grip, calloused fingers and warm palm. I gave him a smile and said hi.

"Hey! So, you got stuck on this expedition like me?" Josh asked. His blonde hair flew in the air and I had this sudden urge to try and control it. He was cute in a surferish, handsome boy-band type.

"Seems like it."I replied. Carl started pushing Josh ahead and gave me a warning look. I just shrugged my shoulders and followed them off the deck.

"Carl, since when do you fly a helicopter?" I asked. Yeah, if I wanted to die, this was not in my dictionary.

"Just one of the many things that makes me Carl." He replied smugly. Josh laughed at his reply turned back to look at me.

"Why do we cave, Josh?" He sighed.

"Well, I don't. Voluntarily." Josh replied to Carl. The forest below was just breathtaking. To think this beautiful, untouched land was safe for the time being made it extraordinary.

"No, Josh wrong answer."

"Well, why do you cave, Carl?" I asked.

"It's exhilarating and…well, why I don't just show you." He maneuvered the helicopter and I gasped. "Esa'ala, the Mother of All Caves."

"Wow." Was all I could say.

"My God, Carl. That's…" Vic breathed out.

"Yeah, it is." Carl replied with a huge smile. To say I was scared was an understatement. This was nothing compared to open water swimming, where the only thing to be afraid of was being eaten by sharks. Goosebumps appeared on my skin as I thought of going down there.

We landed in the middle of nowhere and Josh jumped out. Fellow locals took our stuff, and Josh helped me off. "Thanks."

Hey Victoria! Darya! You got to meet this guy. Hey Dex. You here?" Dex came out and did that man hug thing with Josh. I've always wondered what it was all about. He did it to Vic and found it hard to control my laugh. Her face was epic.

"Josh, my man you're in the shit." Dex claimed.

"You must be Darya. Pleased to meet you milady." He said and kissed my hand. I looked over to Josh unsurely, but he was laughing so I laughed out too.

"Likewise, sir."

"Now, for the grand tour." He guided Victoria in front of the computer and showed her stuff about the cave. I on other hand was not interested in the schematics of the cave, and wandered outside the hut to take a look around. Josh followed me out.

"You do this all the time? The cave. It's incredible." I said.

"Not if you've been hauled all over just to be forced to do it. Sure, it's beautiful but sometimes I just wonder what normal feels like. You know?"

"Yeah I know what you mean. I've been swimming for as long as I can remember. But sometimes I just wish maybe I was doing something else, or what I would be doing if it weren't for swimming. Open water swimming can be a bit too much sometimes." I laughed. "Carl said you're the best climber there is. How does that feel?"

He laughed and looked at me, "Best, I don't know. To my dad no one is the best, so I am yet to feel its exhilaration."

"Josh! Stop flirting with my niece. Your dad wants to speak to you." Carl screamed.

"Shit! Speak of the devil." He rubbed his face and walked towards the hut. I followed behind.

"You're on my shitlist! We rely on you to do your job. Alright!" His dad seemed pissed; remind me never to get on his bad side.

"No, a job is something you choose to do, something you're paid to do. Stop treating me like I'm five-years old!" He screamed. Family troubles, yeah I knew all about those.

"Then stop acting like you're five years old!" Josh didn't wait to hear more; he just cancelled the call and walked out. I looked at Vic and she just shrugged her shoulders.

"What a douche!" I exclaimed and followed after Josh.

"Oi, Carl! We doing this thing or what?" Josh shouted.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"We're going down." His eyes twinkled as he tied the safety harness around me.

"Shit! You can't even see the bottom." I exclaimed.

"Trust me; you're going to love this."

"Hey, you okay?" I whispered to him. His eyes met mine and he gave me a weary smile.

"Okay. You promise me you won't let me fall." I said. His smile grew bigger and went to switch on the light on my helmet.

"I promise." He said.

"Vic! Race you to the bottom." And with that I let myself fall. I could hear Josh laughing and that made me smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 2**

"It's breathtaking." My eyes roamed all around me. It wasn't enough. I wanted to drink in everything.

"Yeah, it is. But don't tell my dad I said that." Josh joked.

"Well, you kept your promise so, there's no reason why I shouldn't listen to you about this."

"But I guess the most interesting part is that, no one has been here apart from us. It just makes the whole experience all the more special." Josh stared at me. A lazy smile on his face as he kept his eyes trained on me. "What? Is something on my face?" I asked, feeling around my face.

"No, it's just I've practically done this my whole life but for the first time I might actually appreciate it because of you." He smiled.

"Yes, you just entered Darya's world. I have the ability of inflicting optimism." I laughed and landed at the bottom of the cave, or entrance of said cave. Josh soon followed behind.

"Holy Crap! What is he thinking?" I shouted as I looked above to find Carl having jumped without any harness or rope. Just a plain parachute.

"Ha-ha! I guess you haven't seen the crazy side of Carl yet."

"He belongs in a mental hospital. I can't believe my parents left me with him." I said rolling my eyes.

"So, where to next 'Oh great climber'?

* * *

"You see, Josh doesn't take after his father. He's his own man." I heard Carl say to Victoria. There was obvious friction between father and son. "Hey Darya! You follow Josh's light, okay?" He called out to me. "Vic and I will go on ahead."

By the time I got to their level they were already on their way down. "Guess, it's just you and me now. Trust Carl to make me feel like I'm slowing things down." I complained. Josh adjusted my harness and laughed. "So, Josh. What do you like?"

"Huh? Oh, well I guess I never really thought about it. No wait! Scratch that. Never had the opportunity to. My dad gets me involved in his expeditions during the summers every year."

"I'd say climbing and scaling rocks was your passion, but you might disagree."

"I don't know about passion but I enjoy it. Probably one the things I look forward to on these expeditions."

"But then why do you do it? Why not just say 'no'?" We continued to climb down, further into the cave. The walls of the caves started to get closer for the first time I actually felt a constriction in my chest. Shit! How you do explain claustrophobia to your crazy uncle? Especially down here.

"You think if a simple 'no' was the solution I would be down here? My dad really is a force to be reckoned with." Josh answered, his voice strained. I decided, maybe this topic was really hitting home.

A comfortable silence formed around us as we made our way further into the cave. My eyes feverishly roamed all around me and for once I was grateful that Josh was below me because there was no way I wanted anyone to know of what I was going through. This was the first time I had felt this way, so maybe it would pass once I got used to my surroundings. It had to pass.

"Took you guys long enough. Seriously, Josh I expected you to speed things up." Carl scoffed. Honestly, why was he so impatient?

"Here, make a video for National Geographic, would you babe?" Carl said handing the handicam to Victoria.

"So, Josh do you like caving?" I sat next to Josh eating from the plastic bag in his hand. I looked at him, waiting intently for the answer. He handed me the bag and sat up straighter.

"Ha-ha. My old man is obsessed with torches, okay. So, for my birthday present he got me this." Josh pulled at necklace from under his shirt. From it hung a tooth. "He got this boar tooth when he killed a boar and ate it on his Bonyo expedition, that's cool right? No, because he modified it." With that he flicked on the light in the tooth. I snorted. Honestly, I thought my parents were bad with presents.

"Oh, wow that's so cool!" Vic stood up straighter to get a better look.

"No, that's not cool. That is a caver for you. I get to check out rock. And look this rock looks just like that. It's so lame." I laughed out loud at his expressions and had to suppress it with my hand. I handed the bag back to him.

"Oh, Josh. You just don't get it. Your old man is the most respected explorer of our time. He's like Columbus or Neil Armstrong. This is the last place left on Earth to discover. Why wouldn't you want to shine your light where no human has ever shone light before? You get to see something that the rest of the world won't ever see." Now that was Carl talking from his heart, about something that really meant something to him. I was impressed. In all my years of knowing my uncle, never had I heard him talk about his work like that to anyone. I guess small spaces bring out the truth.

"You mean you want to shine a light where no human has ever been before. Really? There you go!" And with that he lowered his pants and showed his behind. I burst out laughing only to be glared at by Carl. He shot Josh a dirty look before giving me a warning glance. Seriously, I wasn't even the one who decided nudity was a good idea and here Carl thought I was to be blamed. Sheesh.

* * *

When we finally arrived to the camp, the atmosphere was gloomy. Eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. Things didn't look good and when Josh finally got to see the video, they took a turn for the worst.

He sat there replaying the video. I knew what was going through his head because the anger was evident on his features. The sadness of loosing Jude was present but so was anger as his hands clenched on the side. "See! He just fucking yanked the mask away from her!"

"I don't see it that way, Josh." I sat, my hand covering my mouth as I looked at Josh stalk away from Carl and Victoria. "Hey, Josh!"

"You have no fucking idea what you're talking about here." Dex reasoned with him as he followed behind.

"No, he killed her! She is dead and it's all because of him!"

"Listen to me! Hey! Listen to me." Dex shouted as he caught with Josh. Buddy breathing is the most radical thing ever. Once Jude lost it she wasn't coming home. We lost her. Frank didn't force her to do anything. Okay?"

"No. No, he always pushes too hard. He made this happen." Josh broke down, his face still contorted with rage.

"Would somebody want to give me a hand here?" Frank had re-merged with a still Jude in his arms.

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews. I couldn't find any Josh/OC stories and i had read somewhere that if you want to read something and it doesn't exist, then write it yourself. That is exactly what i'm doing. This is the first time i'm writing about a movie, so please bare with me. **

**Anonymous reviewers, you are much loved but i can't reply to you! :(**

**Chapter 3 is in the works :D Just review please! 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 3**

Josh went very still. I gasped and tears welled in my eyes. Even though I didn't know Jude, I still felt for everyone who did. And I was scared. No one mentioned potential deaths in the brochure. Plus the claustrophobia hadn't got any better, which was why I was keeping my distance from everyone. It was the only way to make sure that no one found out.

"Get her up and ready to haul out of here." Frank said never taking his eyes off of Josh. He was pissed, any could tell. No one said a word, scared that it might make matters even worse.

"Hey, you okay?" Carl asked me. I had my legs pulled up to my chest and my head placed on my hands. I just nodded to tell him I was okay. "Here, have some."

"How can you eat at a time like this?" I whispered fiercely.

"Nothing could be done, Darya. Come on. Vic, what would you do in such a situation? I mean, on the mountain." He asked, eating away at whatever it was he was eating. My eyes shifted to Victoria's face.

"There's nothing that can be done for the dead at that altitude. I would just keep going." Really! They were going to make a discussion out of this. My eyes flickered over to where Josh sat and his eyes met mine before he turned to look at his father.

"You drag every one along on your dream. And they listen to you and they believe and you, and guess what, they end up dead." He seethed. "Nobody out in the real world gives two shits about this fucking cave. Nobody gives a damn."

"Those bail out tanks you were supposed to get down here, Judes and I had to go up and get them. Judes did the dive heavily fatigued. Now maybe that didn't make any difference, but maybe it did." He was blaming his own son. I wanted to go over there and slap him. What kind of father blames his own son?

"Alright, the comms are down. J.D., Liz you go up and tell them we're coming back up." He barked orders like nothing had happened. I guess, one had to keep a level head down here.

"I'm going with them." Josh said meekly. Maybe this was my chance of getting out of here. The sooner I was out the better.

"Yeah, you go! You get up there. Find that chopper and keep going!" Frank shouted.

"Fine!"

"I'm coming with you." I said to him and he just nodded. "Hey Uncle Carl, I'm going back up with Josh. I guess the caves just aren't for me. Throw me in open water and I'm home." I laughed, but it didn't quite hit the spot and Victoria saw how upset I was so she just nodded. "See you guys at the surface."

* * *

"Josh, I'm pretty sure there wasn't any water here, when we came down." I said, perplexed to see the cave floor filling with water. Josh didn't seem to hear me but I was struggling with something. I caught up with him trying to pry the necklace off. "Josh, stop." I held his arm. "Stop." I whispered.

"Guys, did you hear that? Listen." J.D. said and we all stayed quiet only to hear a sort of rumbling. "What the hell was that?"

"We better keep moving." Was all Josh said before he walked away.

Water was seeping in through the opening. "Liz get up there. Come on. Get up there." J.D. said. I stood with Josh as he tried to contact someone through the radio.

"Surface base. Do you copy? Surface base! Jim! Shit." Josh took a hold of my hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Josh is that you?" Jim's voice was heard through the radio and I released my breath which I hadn't realised I was holding. I squeezed Josh's hand with relief. "You need to get of there! The storm has turned into a cyclone and it's supposed to last for days."

"Fuck!" Josh hit the radio.

"Josh, what about the others?" I asked. No way was I going to leave Carl and Victoria down there.

"I know, we need to help them."

"Hey! We can't help them from here." J.D. shouted over the pouring water. "We need to get to the surface. Organize a rescue."

"What? No!" I shouted.

"A rescue? No, we can't leave them down there." Josh stated firmly. A loud rumble came from the opening and water gushed out. It hit us hard, and Josh quickly shielded my body with his. I could tell the water was coming with a strong force because his body was struggling from the weight.

"There's a break in the flow. Look, its stopping. We have to get out now." Josh helped me stand up and went to help Liz and J.D. up to the opening.

"Go on. I'll go after you." Josh said as I placed my foot on the makeshift stronghold made from the rope.

"Josh, what about Carl and Victoria. Your father and Dex. We can't just leave them." I was worried as hell and I didn't want to leave them behind. He looked me in the eyes and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

"Josh! What the hell are you doing? Hurry up!" J.D. screamed from above.

Josh looked up at them, "I can't. I can't leave him." And with that Josh started walking back. I got myself out of the rope and followed behind.

"Shit! They're gone. Let's go." Was the last I heard of J.D.

Josh turned when he heard me behind him. "What the hell, Darya! Go back! You need to get out of here." He shouted.

"No. No way! My uncle and Victoria are down there. I came here with them. And I'm going back with them too. Plus you're not alone. We'll get everyone back together."

"Darya, go back! It's too dangerous."

"Josh, stop!" I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "We'll get out."

**A/N: Chapter 3 guys! :)**

**Thanks for the support and i hope you guys are enjoying it. It's not at all easy to write :p i have to watch the movie side by side and then insert Darya around. I haven't mentioned Loki anywhere, should i because his death is coming up?**

**Review. Review. Review. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 4**

The water started up again, this time with more force. We needed to tread faster than this if we wanted to get to the rest and make it back up. Josh took a hold of my hand so that we could support each other and tread on faster. I followed behind him, matching his steps as much as I could. Hopefully Frank and the rest would meet us half way, that could speed everything up and we'd be able to get too. Otherwise, no I couldn't afford to think like that.

"Who's there?" Frank shouted and Josh sped up.

"Dad!" Josh shouted back. I tried to steady myself with the rocks around me, the water was getting too strong.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Dad, the cave is flooding."

"You think! Send down the rope."

"Yeah." With that Josh threw down the rope. I hurried to tie the other end to the boulder in the way. "Secure?" I nodded.

"She's climbing!" George shouted

"Victoria, you're going to take a big hit now. Ready yourself." Frank shouted. Josh beckoned me ahead so that I could help him bring Victoria up.

"Victoria!" I shouted as I saw her head appear. That's when the boulder moved.

"Stop! Stop! It's moving." Josh shouted as I rushed back to push the boulder from moving.

"It's not going to hold, Josh." I shouted as my feet slipped. "Climb back down Victoria!"

"Fuck that. I'm not going down." She climbed up further and Josh helped her up.

"Shit! Josh! It's not – With that I fell back. I felt Josh's hand try to grab onto me but the strength of the water was too much and we took Victoria down with us.

The water below hit me hard and I panicked. Desperately and quickly I swam away from the waterfall (because that is what it looked like now) so that I could get my head out without being hit by the force of the water. I took lungs full of air and gasped for air.

"Josh!" Frank screamed and I looked around desperately. Shit. Where the hell was he?

"Josh! Victoria! Josh!" I screamed and got ready to back towards the flow to search for him and Vic. That's was when both Vic and Josh appeared. Carl jumped in to help Victoria out and I stretched my hand so that Josh could take a hold of it. Thank God, they were alright. "You okay?" I asked as we both swam away from the opening. Josh only grunted in response as he tried to swim faster.

"No!" I heard George scream to which both Josh and I looked up to find that the boulder had blocked the exit. "Shit. Shit." He screamed.

We swam onto the sides, and I coughed out water. Shit, I shouldn't have panicked like that. You panic and you die faster and quicker. Frank and George joined us. "Listen, to me. Both of you. You did all you could." Josh nodded to that and I just closed my eyes to steady my breathing. "We're heading down to forward base! We'll find a way out. Through the restriction." Frank shouted.

* * *

When we made it back to forward base, the camp site was flooded. "Grab anything that you see useful!" Frank barked. "I said useful! Ropes, torches, re-breathers. We've only got a few more hours left before this place floods up too." My eyes roamed around the camp site looking for the useful.

"Where's my mask? God dammit!" Carl started screaming. I grabbed a mask which floated towards me and handed it to him.

"You need to calm down!" I shouted.

"George, give me hand here!" Frank shouted, to which Victoria and I looked towards them. Frank was opening Judes's body bag.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Victoria shouted, horrified. But I knew. Victoria needed the suit. But she wasn't going to like it.

"We don't have any extra suits your size. There is only one for Darya. This is the only one that will fit you."

"Ha. Fuck that! I am not wearing a dead person's suit."

"Vic you need to." I said calmly. Forcing her wasn't going to help the situation because it'd only make her more stubborn.

"You can do this! Because you have to do this!" Frank shouted. "Darya, go to Josh. He'll give you the extra suit." I walked away giving Vic another pitying look. "George will teach you the basics."

"Hey! I thought George wasn't supposed to dive anymore." Carl reasoned.

"Well, we're taking him out of retirement." Frank replied.

Vic was pissed and Frank obviously wasn't in the mood to be shouted at. They could be heard shouting at each other throughout the cave, as I made my way over to Josh.

"You listen to me Frank! I'd rather be cold and alive, then warm and dead! Show me how to use the rebreathers!" Victoria shouted.

"You shouldn't have come after me, Darya." Josh whispered as he handed me the suit.

"Haven't we already gone over this?" I asked while taking off the climbing gear. "Now turn around." I said and started stripping down.

With his back turned towards me, "You could have made it out. There really is only a slim chance of getting out of here."

"Hey zip me up, would you?" I turned my back to Josh and I felt his hands fumble with the zipper. "Josh, listen to me. Let's not dwell on the 'what if' anymore, okay? It's too late now. And besides, I wanted to come. I've done this before, okay? I'm not new to the dive." I said quietly, as his hands came to rest on my shoulders. "God, your hands are freezing." I joked as I took his hands in mine in order to warm them. "Your turn." I gave his hands one last squeeze. I heard him start to strip down too.

* * *

"Come here, you two." Frank said to Josh and me, as we waded in the water. "Green light means good, red light means bad. Darya, did George brief you on everything?"

"Hmm."

"Okay, I'll be monitoring you guys, alright?"

"Dad, we know, okay?" Josh said firmly and Frank just gave him a nod.

Frank turned to face everyone and said, "Visibility will be screwed to shit. Just follow the guideline. And Victoria goes last."

"What!" Victoria said, a bit on the edge.

"You panic in there; everyone behind you dies along with you." Frank said with finality. No one was going to argue with that. "I'll see you all on the other side." With that said Frank slowly lowered under water. We all followed suit.

Visibility was crap. I couldn't see anything properly and the light wasn't helping at all. Frank took my hand and guided it to a thin rope. It had to be the guideline. I gave him a 'okay' sign and he swam on further.

When the squeeze came into sight, I tried not to panic. It may not have shown on my face but I knew I'd have trouble with it. It was far too tight. Frank squeezed through first. My eyes roamed around me for another way through, a more relaxed way but no such luck. Josh came up to me, squeezed my hand and looked at me. He knew. He knew I was freaking out. I squeezed his hand back to tell him I was okay. He gave me thumbs up and followed after his father. I was to go next.

Carl nudged me a bit, signaling my turn and I gave him a weary look. He just nodded his head and slowly blinked at me. I went in.

As I squeezed my way through I kept chanting 'Don't panic' in my head. At least it kept my attention away from the close proximity and the small area. When I saw the end I pushed myself to go faster. Josh saw me and helped me out. I didn't let go of his hand till everyone was out.

Where the hell was Victoria? Dread filled my heart when I saw everyone was out and she was nowhere in sight. I made to go and check it out when I saw Josh hold on to my hand tighter to keep me in place. He blinked me a 'no' and I turned around to see Carl going towards the squeeze. Before he could get there, a light appeared and Victoria was out. Without anymore stops, we swam our way to the top.

* * *

Josh helped me out of the water, as I pulled the tank off my back.

"Where the hell is Carl?" Frank screamed. Victoria lay on the side shivering. I quickly got over to her and started peeling of her wet clothes. "Carl!" Uncle Carl ran over to us, from God knows where. "You'll need to keep her warm. Josh! Where is that blanket?" Frank shouted.

"Vic, cross your arms. Cross your arms." I said as Josh returned with the foil blanket. "Uncle Carl, come on!"

"I'm coming!" He replied as he started stripping down. He quickly joined Victoria under the blanket. I got up and walked over to where Josh was.

"If we run out of light, we run out of time. Observe your batteries. Alright, get some rest." Frank said after which he promptly switched of his torch. Everyone soon followed.

I lay down on the ground and closed my eyes. Sleep was going to be harder than I thought. After all that we had been through, we if I was tired, it was going to be hard.

**A/N: And that is the end of Chapter 4. Thanks for the reviews! :D I love them! And i have to say this story is going along pretty well. Yay!**

**Review. Review. Review. :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 5**

I woke up to the sounds of Carl and Victoria. "I should have worn her suit." Vic said. Carl was rubbing her legs, trying to get as much warmth as he could.

"Hey! You did good. Really good! Okay?" Carl encouraged to which Vic nodded. I sat up and patted down my hair. Just like always it was all over the place and then walked over to where Carl and Vic sat.

"Hey. How are you doing?" I asked Vic. From the looks of it she was still freezing. I placed my arms around her shoulder and started rubbing her to warm her up.

"Thanks." She said through chattering teeth and gave me a smile.

"Hey, Frank. I think we should explore this part of the cave while we wait." Carl shouted over to where Frank and Josh sat. I just rolled my eyes.

"While we wait for what?" Frank asked, making his way over to the gear. Josh looked between the two.

"The rescue, of course." Carl said matter-of-factly.

"There are no rescues down here." Was all Frank said to which Vic gave Carl a distressed look. I stopped rubbing Vic's shoulder's and looked over at Carl too. What the hell was happening here?

"I still think we should sit and wait." Carl replied.

"Yeah, we've got enough food for a couple of days." Josh said, rummaging through the bag.

"Couple of days, this place will be flooded." And he looked towards the knife almost submerged under the ever rising water. "We follow the river and it'll lead to the ocean."

* * *

"Hey you okay?" Victoria was having trouble walking through the cave. Her body was cramping up because of the cold. God, she should have just worn the bloody suit. She just carried on without an answer.

The cave floor was slippery because of the water. I had to make sure that my footing was steady because if I fell I could very well break my neck and lay here to die. I wanted to bang my head against the wall in frustration. I couldn't do this. Who was I kidding? My hands clenched into fists in anger.

"Hey. Hey! It's okay." Josh said to me as he unclenched my hands. He kept his hold on them and looked me in the eye. "Why haven't you told anyone?" He whispered. The others trudged on, while we stood there facing each other.

"I didn't know myself that I was claustrophobic until a few hours. And you think I'm going to tell anyone now. Are you crazy? The situation does not call for it." I pried my hands from his and shook my head in frustration. "Josh, I can't do this. I thought I could, but I just can't." Tears started forming in my eyes. Shit! Great, I was going to start crying now. It was the last thing I wanted to do in front of Josh.

"Hey. It's going to be okay." He placed his hands on my cheeks and looked me straight in the eye. "Remember I kept you a promise. I'm going to get you out of here safe and sound. I promise you that." The tears started falling then, and I couldn't do anything to stop them. "Ssh. It'll be okay." And he pulled me into a hug and started rubbing my back.

"How many promises do you plan on making?" I joked and he laughed.

"As many you want me to. Now come on lets go before my dad decides to kill us both."I laughed at that and wiped away my tears.

As we trudged further, hand in hand, my foot slipped but before I hit the ground painfully, Josh caught me. I looked up at him and breathed, "Thanks." He helped me up and gave me a smile.

"Told you I wouldn't let you fall. Come on, we're almost there." My eyes fell on the rock behind him and the words etched on to the surface.

"Josh…" I started wearily which made Josh turn around and look at the source of worries.

"What? What is it?" His eyes searched around and upon finding the scribbled sentence ran forward. I quickly ran after him. It said, "George was here."

"Fuck. Dad!" Josh screamed. I gasped and started looking around for any sign of George. "Dad! George!"

"George! Where are you? You don't have to do this! George!" I screamed.

"Joshua! Josh, what's wrong?" Frank showed up within seconds. Josh just pointed to the wall before he started helping me in finding George.

"You guys! It's his rebreather. There." I shouted and walked up to the rebreather, looking around for any other sign of George.

"George! I know what you're doing! Get out here! George!" Frank shouted.

* * *

We got back to Carl and Victoria. I was mentally and physically exhausted. How many more deaths were there going to before we got out of here? Would we ever get out of here? I sat down on the boulder of the rock and drank some water. Josh sat down beside me.

"Hey Josh, Darya, smile for the camera. We are going to make the cover of National Geographic yet." I shielded my face from the flash of the camera. I didn't care about some stupid magazine. I wanted to get out of here. I turned by back, hunched over the side and threw up. Josh pulled my hair back and started rubbing my back.

Frank threw the camera in the water near my feet. "You won't be taking any victory shot! You got that!" He screamed and then I heard them both struggle.

"Jesus, Frank! Stop it!" Veronica shouted. "You okay, babe."

"You're really enjoying this aren't you, Frank? Playing God. Deciding who gets to live and who gets to die." Carl remarked snidely.

"There's no God down here. Nobody knows we're here." Frank replied.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked over to Carl and Victoria, "George is gone."

"What do you mean he's gone?" Carl threw up his hands in frustration.

"Decompression got him. He's dead." Josh finished for me, helping me to my feet.

Carl sat there in silence, finally processing the news. "Fuck! Shit! I'm sorry, Frank. Shit. I'm sorry." His shaking fingers raked through his hair in frustration.

"This way!" Frank called out to us. "Josh! Darya! Keep up!"

"You sure about this?" Carl asked.

"No."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 6**

"Come on, we can go back the way we came and look for another way out." Carl pressed. I looked down the ledge to find a whirlpool of sorts and an opening down below, on the other side. How the hell were we going to get there without getting into the water?

"There is no way back. It's forward or nowhere." Frank argued.

"Well, then lets swim across. That's the only solution we have to get across." Victoria reasoned.

"Vic, we can't." I said.

"It's a meat grinder down there. There is no way you can swim in a meat grinder. We need to get to that opening." Frank said looking at the opening across from us.

"Dad, I can make it." Josh stated and my eyes widened. There had to be another way to get across without having any one risk their life like that.

"No way! No chance." Frank wouldn't have it.

"But Dad-

"Come on Frank, he's the best climber there is. He's the only one we can rely on to get there safely." Carl argued.

"Yeah, Frank. Let the kid do it." Victoria pressed.

"No way! My son will not be endangering his life like that. I'll do it." I knew he cared, even if he never showed it.

"Dad! You know me better than that and you know I can make it there in my sleep. This is our only way out. Trust me Dad. Please."

"Fine." With that Frank started tying a rope around Josh and securing the harness. He turned towards us, "After Josh secures the line, Darya will go next and then the rest us will follow. Got it?" We just nodded. "Good luck, son." He patted his shoulder and gave Josh space so that he could easily climb down the ledge.

Before he could go down I called out to him, "Josh!" He turned around only to have me wrap my arms around him. He returned the hug and held me tight, "You be careful, okay?"

He whispered in my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my back, making my neck hair stand up, "Hey! I kept you a promise, remember?" I gave him a smile and let go.

He climbed down slowly, testing the wall for steady footing. His breathing was getting heavy and I was getting agitated. "Here, let me do that." I said to Victoria and started warming up her hands. I was too scared to look but I needed to know he was okay.

Even though Josh had clipped himself on the other side, his fall would be dangerous. Chances looked slim and him scaling the wall like that, when the meat grinder was only inches below, scared the shit out of me. Victoria squeezed my hand and I looked up at her, "Hey, it'll be okay." She whispered and I just nodded feebly.

"Hey, give me some light! I'm going to have to improvise this last bit!" I heard Josh shout and I promptly closed my eyes. Please tell me he wasn't going to jump.

"Alright, I won't tell you." Joked Victoria. Shit, had I just said that out loud.

"Distract me please." I whispered at Vic pleadingly. She just smiled and nodded.

"So, I saw what happened earlier. Getting close are we?" Great, this was a bad idea.

"Honestly Vic, there is a time and place for everything." I whispered fiercely and turned over to look at Josh.

"Yes!" I screamed. Thank God he was okay and Thank God he had made it across.

"You good?" Frank smiled at him.

Josh smiled in my direction, "Yeah, we're good."

"Good!" Frank's smile showed how proud he was of Josh, "Good boy." He whispered. He climbed down to the ledge directly below and made a line in order to transport the rebreathers from one side to the other. "Darya! You're up."

I kept whispering to myself the whole way through 'Don't look down'. When I finally reached the other side, Josh quickly made a grab to steady me and pull me up, "Hey, I got you." With me securely seated next to Josh, Frank pulled back along the line to get the next person moving along.

"You scared the crap out of me." I whispered fiercely to Josh and hit him on the arm.

He just laughed, "Honestly, was that supposed to hurt?"

Soon enough we were joined by Carl. Victoria was to go next and Frank last. "Are you okay?" Carl shouted across to Vic. Her hands were freezing and it was going to prove to be difficult for her to get across but she could do it.

"Get that light of her face!" Frank shouted, which was followed by an ear-piercing scream.

"Oh, fuck! It's her hair! It's stuck! She's hanging by her hair!" I screamed as Vic screamed in agony.

"Help me! Argh! Help!" She screamed and cried.

"Frank do something!" Carl shouted. Josh on the other hand was half way across towards Vic.

"Victoria, don't move. Josh! Get back! It won't hold!" Frank shouted. Victoria unhooked her helmet and let it fall, but her hair still remained stuck on the rack.

"Baby! It's going to be okay!" Frank shouted.

"Victoria! You need to get a foothold! Transfer your weight onto that!" I screamed.

"I can't get a hold!" She screamed which soon followed by her cries of pain. Carl was getting agitated and screaming.

"I'm coming up and getting you!" Josh shouted, as he got to the other side.

"Enough! You are staying here. We need to think of a plan." Frank ordered. "Victoria! I know you're in a lot of pain but do nothing! Nothing till I can get a rope up to you!" Frank shouted.

"I'm going to cut my hair free!" Victoria shouted.

The situation dawned on me and I shouted, "Vic! No! Don't use your knife!"

"Victoria don't use your knife near the rope!" Frank shouted.

"Get up to her!" I heard Josh shout.

"Vic! Don't do it!" I shouted.

"Christ!" Carl shouted.

"Aah!" Victoria fell; the rope broke her fall but didn't hold her weight.

"Jesus Christ!" Carl shouted. I was scared that he would push himself off the ledge by the way he was moving, I wrapped my arms around him to keep him steady. Tears were rolling down my face, but my hands were too occupied to wipe them away. A sob broke out, as I tried to keep a lock on Carl's flailing hands.

* * *

"We need to keep moving." Frank said as he completed the rope he was making. Josh's face was stoic and Carl was seething. I pulled my legs to my chest and rested my head on my arms. "Josh." Frank called out but Josh didn't answer. The tears were still streaming down my face. "Josh." Frank looked up to his son. "Look Victoria made her own choices. She chose to come down here with no experience. She chose not to wear the wetsuit. She chose to use the knife." Bad choice of words, Frank I thought as I looked over to Carl. He had turned to look at Frank, his face showing anger. "That is three prospects against the one that could have killed her. It's better than nothing. Look, there is only one rebreather left and we'll have to buddy breathe out of here."

"You heartless bastard. Have you no decency." The tears were streaming down Carl's face too as I looked towards him. His eyes were red with the tears.

"We can mourn her in the daylight, but right now we have to move on." I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing and control my tears.

"How did you turn out like this?" Josh asked quietly.

"Look Josh, I know I've been anything but a father to you. I'm not good at it and that's just a fact." The tears started streaming down faster I started thinking about my own family, how I might never see them again. I covered my face with my hands to silence the sobs that were escaping my mouth. "It's not easy. I could never be what your mother needed, or what you needed."

"Why?" Josh whispered. His voice broke, "Why caves?"

"Josh, down here I'm my own judge. I can be whoever I want to be. I can make sense of the world down here. You know what I mean?" Frank replied.

Josh broke down and started crying, "I don't want to die dad. I don't want to die down here." I removed my hands from my face to find both father and son hugging each other. I wiped away my tears and exhaled. My eyes stung from all the crying and I was sure I looked a right mess.

"Let's get moving." I said from my place, as I got up. Josh had been strong for me throughout, I had to be strong and determined for him too, even if I was going through the same thing as him.

* * *

The water was hardly knee deep, but the current was still strong in the cave. Carl led the way this time and we followed behind. Suddenly, my breathing became laboured and I hunched over the side, holding onto the wall for support. I started taking big lungful of air. Shit! I wasn't supposed to get an attack. Why the hell was this happening now?

Frank and Josh came over to me, "Hey, Darya. You need to relax for me. Can you do that? Come on relax for me." Frank said to me calmly. "Breathe slowly and steadily. You are not running out of air. Come on you can do it. Josh, rub her back slowly." I felt Josh's hands on my back slowly rubbing circles. "Darya, in and out. In and out." Tears started falling down my cheeks again as I followed Frank's orders. Slowly but surely my breathing evened out. "Ssh. See, everything's okay now." Frank smiled and wiped away my tears. "Josh walk with her." With that Frank trudged after Carl. I had to admit that my uncle didn't really care about anything at the moment, not even his own blood.

I leaned into Josh and kept my head on his shoulder. He held my hand and placed his other hand around my shoulder to steady me. "I'm sorry." I whispered, my eyes closed and I took in Josh's smell. It calmed me down further.

"Hey! What are you sorry about?" Josh whispered back.

"Everything, I guess. Slowing you guys down and stuff."

Josh turned me so I was facing him. "Listen to me. I don't want to hear this again. Do you hear me? Nothing is your fault."

"Of course it is. I'm just a burden now."

"Dar, don't. You know what I'm happy about. Even though I'm upset that you didn't listen to me and go back when you could, I'm happy that you came on this trip."

"What?" I looked up at him, confused as to what my ears were hearing. Did he just say he was glad to have met me?

"Yeah. I would've never have met you if you never came on this trip. God! You don't even realize it but you're the reason why I haven't given up. Why I want to get us out of here." I searched his eyes for the truth and all I found was determination and something that shocked me, adoration. His eyes shifted from my eyes to my lips and back again. His hands rested on my shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "So, that when we get out, I can actually ask you out." He whispered and that's all I needed to close the gap between us. His hands came to rest on my cheeks instead and I smiled into the kiss. While the situation didn't count for it, the moment did. My fingers treaded through his hair and he pulled my body flush to his. His lips were soft against mine and I wanted this moment to last forever.

Eventually, after what seemed like eternity we broke apart and Josh rested his head against mine and smiled, "I wish the circumstances were different, but I wouldn't change whatever happened for the world." He placed one last lingering kiss on my temple, "Come on lets go." I weaved my fingers through his and we walked hand in hand.

* * *

"Jesus Christ, dead end again." Carl said tiredly. Josh and I came to stand next to Frank and Carl, as they looked on to the pool of water before us.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do. We'll rest up here for a while, and then I'll take the last rebreather and see where she goes. I'll come back to take you Josh, then Darya and then later you Carl. Okay?" Frank said, seating himself and stretching his legs. I went and sat near him and Josh plopped down beside me.

"Sure Frank, whatever you say." Carl said before he dove in the water.

I turned to speak to Frank when Josh shouted, "Dad! Carl's taken the rebreather." I got to my feet and ran to the edge.

"What's he doing?" I asked.

"Shit. He won't come back." Josh said, looking at me then Frank.

"Son of a bitch." Was all Frank said before he dove after Carl.

"Fuck. Come on. Come on!" Josh whispered.

"How could he do this?" I walked up and down the edge. "How could he leave his own niece behind? What the fuck is wrong with him!" I shouted in frustration. "How could he leave us all to die?"

Frank's head appeared out of the water. "Dad," Josh said before he and i went to help Frank out of the water.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to James Cameron except for my OC, Darya.**

**Chapter 7**

I lay on the ground, my back facing Josh and Frank. How could I be related to a monster like Carl? Who abandoned his own family? A tear rolled down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away. He was not worthy of my tears. No, what I felt was anger towards him and sorrow towards the fact that I just might never see my family again. And that too all because of my uncle.

"Is it dead?" I heard Josh ask. Frank had sat tweaking the torch for some time now.

"Yup." Was all Frank said.

I heard Josh let out a sigh, "Well, the tunnel could choke. Then he'd have to come anyway."

"If the tunnel chokes, we're dead either way."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Don't know. I'm tired. Need to rest."

"What are you talking about? We have to go back! We will find another way out!" Frank started laughing. Great! This cave was making everyone go crazy. "What's wrong with you?"

"You remind me of me."

"Oh, shit." I snorted. The one person Josh didn't want to end up like and he reminded his dad of himself. I sat up when I heard him shift; he was walking towards the cave wall across. He went and felt the wall, sniffing his hand. What the hell was wrong with everyone? He smiled and came over to me. Without me even realizing it, he rubbed the black substance on my cheek.

"What the hell?" I started the rubbing the fowl thing. It smelled horrendous. Frank looked over at him like he was crazy.

Josh exclaimed excitedly, "Bat shit."Frank got up to smell and look at the opening. "You think there's a way out?" Josh asked.

"Well, I'm guessing the bats didn't swim down here." With that said, Frank made to climb inside. Oh, great! More packed and small spaces. "Darya! You remember what I said to you."

"Come on, up you go." Josh beckoned to me but I just shook my head.

"No, Josh. I'll go last. If I panic I could endanger your life as well. You go on. I'll follow behind you."

"Dar, no! It'll be fine."

"Honestly, Josh! Just listen to me, okay?" Josh didn't argue with me any further and made to follow Frank. As soon as his feet disappeared, I followed behind him.

The whole area was covered in bat shit and the water that sprinkled from above made the whole place moist and disgusting. But thankfully, there were enough footholds and even climbing was proving to be difficult, the prospect of falling didn't exist. I made sure to keep my breathing leveled and that's what I focused on to get my mind off my surroundings. Above me I heard Frank and Josh reciting some verses and while I would love to join in with them, I was scared I would panic. So, I kept my focus my breathing.

"Here, climb over me." Frank said to Josh and I stopped. I couldn't go any further because Frank was blocking the way so that Josh could get to the top first and then help us all up. I saw Frank was in pain as Josh used his shoulder as support to get up there. I breathed a sigh of relief once I saw Josh get up safely. "Darya, come on. Climb over me." My eyes widened and I was going to argue but I thought against it. Quick on my feet I made a move to climb over to Frank.

"Here, take my hand." Josh stretched out his hand for me to hold on to. I wiped off the sweat and grime off my hand against my suit and took hold of Josh's hand. He pulled and I pushed. Once safely on top, Josh and I outstretched our hands for Frank to take a hold of. It took everything in us to pull him up. But together we pulled and Frank made a jump which helped us get him up as well. I fell against Josh, as we all gasped for air.

With my head resting on Josh's chest I felt him shake with laughter, "Mother fucker." He wrapped his arm around me. We had made it. "My light's gone." I made to check mine but Josh had his arm securing me place so that I couldn't move, "Yours is gone too."

"Christ." I heard Frank say before he shut off his own. We were submerged in darkness and that was our queue to rest and get some shut eye. I snuggled a bit further into Josh and I felt him make room for me. And with that I promptly shut my eyes.

* * *

Crawling in the caves with no light at all freaked me out further. Frank's light had also died conveniently as we crawled further.

"Oh, shit…okay." With that Frank switched on the light in his watch. Josh was right, cavers were obsessed with torches. Thank God for that.

Frank stumbled a bit as he held the light of the watch on and crawled through the cave. This was going to b prove to be hard.

"We could rest up." With that Frank switched off the light again.

"Wait. Hey, I can see you guys." I said. The light had outlined our faces, making it possible to see, even if not too much.

We looked towards the light and continued to crawl. Not far from where we were, the end appeared and we got out.

I laughed out loud and met Josh and Frank's smiling faces. There was a huge hole in the ceiling of the cave, through which the sun's light poured down. Birds chirped and the faint smell of trees and rain made it to my nose.

I removed my helmet and shook my hair loose. "Well, we aren't climbing out of here, that's for sure." Josh said.

"Now, that's something you don't see every day." Frank claimed and made his way directly below the hole.

"A tank. A bloody tank." I laughed.

"Japanese. They were all over this place during the war." Frank said as he climbed on top of the tank.

"Do you think anybody survived?" I asked, scanning the tank.

"Doesn't look like it." Frank gestured towards the skeletons.

"We could stay here, you know? Somebody's got to come find us." I asked.

"Assuming they're looking for us." Frank answered as he made some fire out of old gasoline cans.

"Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups." Josh laughed. "We're so close."

"Now it's just teasing us." I whispered, looking at the opening above.

"Oh, now don't take it personally." Frank said as he handed me some food from the plastic bag. I sat on the ground at their feet and looked up at them. "So, what do we do? Want to stay here or do we push on? You guys decided." Josh looked towards me and I already knew the answer. He was thinking the same thing. No one was ever bound to find us here.

I got up from the ground, took a piece of rock and started to carve into the tank. "Frank, Josh and Darya were here. See ya!"

* * *

We found another opening and climbed out. "Hey, dad! I found the river." Josh exclaimed. We were getting close. Shit! We actually had a chance of getting out of here. I wanted to jump around with joy.

The ground was slippery and as I carefully made my way further the cave, I stopped. Josh upon seeing the rebreather said, "Carl." All happiness drained away. Frank made to check if there was any oxygen left in the tank.

"No, empty. Dead." Trust Carl to fuck everything up for everyone.

We didn't stick around for anything else and continued our way. "The river has flushed everything out like a sewer." Frank exclaimed.

"It sure as hell smells like one." I said covering my nose in the process and making sure to breathe through my mouth.

"Darya! Frank! Is that you guys?" I thought for sure I was hearing things when I heard Carl's pathetic voice but then so had everyone else heard it as well and we made our way towards it. "Oh thank God! Thank God!" Carl exclaimed. He was covered in grime and his face was unrecognizable of sorts. He was groveling on the ground and I made sure to keep my distance.

"Carl! What the fuck!" Josh seethed. I stayed out of reach of Carl and safely behind Josh. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Well, I would have come back for you guys. I was going to come back. You know that Darya, don't you?" He said looking at me but all I saw was a pathetic excuse for a human who had left everyone to die. I walked away to the other end of the cave and I heard Frank follow closely behind. "Please, you got any food?" I heard him ask Josh.

"Yeah, of course. Here"

I continued to walk to the other side. When I heard Carl say, "Frank. Darya, please don't go there. Please!" But I wouldn't stop and neither did Frank. I was curious to see what the hell it was that had Carl scared out of his wits.

"Shit!" I turned away. Vic lay there, dead. I walked over to Josh who welcomed me into his arms. I buried my head in the crook of his neck and let the tears flow.

"The river dumped her here like a piece of garbage. Oh, Darya I messed up. I'm sorry you guys. I'm sorry. I just panicked. It was a moment of madness. Oh, geez I'm sorry." Carl cried and I was just beyond sick of him.

"Shut up!" I shouted. "You fucking deserve to die! Do here me? Dead." I screamed. I would have killed him if it weren't Josh holding on to me.

"Darya. Josh, let's go. We're leaving." I released my hands from Josh's and walked away, towards where Frank was leading us and Josh soon followed behind.

"Come on you guys! You can't leave me here! Frank! Darya! Shit! Shit!" Carl screamed after us.

* * *

Frank sat at the edge of where the river entered, tweaking the rebreather. Thankfully there was oxygen left. Josh appeared from under the water, ecstatic.

"She goes! There's a tight squeeze but once we get through that, its all clear and we're in the open."

"The open sea just about sounds amazing!" I remarked happily.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. We'll buddy breathe out of here. One breathe each. Nice shallow breaths." Frank said.

"What about Carl?" Josh asked, his eyes meeting mine. I let out a sigh and made to get up. As much as I hated the man for what he did back there, he was still family and I wasn't going to let his life loom over mine forever.

"I'll go get him." I said and turned towards the direction which we came. But then Carl jumped from behind and hit Frank on the back. I screamed and made my way over to make Carl stop beating Frank. Carl threw Frank with such force onto the ground that I heard Frank grunt in pain. He went to pick up a rock and turned towards me. Josh was quietly coming from behind and I needed to make sure that Carl didn't notice.

"Have you lost your mind?" I shouted. "What? You're going to kill your niece now?" He raised his arm to throw the rock when Josh threw the gasoline can lit on fire at him and the whole of Carl's body lit aflame. I quickly made my way over to Frank to check the damage when I heard a splash, and both Josh and Carl were submerged in water. Josh threw punches at him and pushed him around. "Josh! Stop!" I shouted at him. He was currently choking Carl. "Josh!" Upon realizing what he was about to do, Josh let go of Carl and moved away from him.

Frank grabbed on to my hand and I looked down at him. "Hey. You okay?" He was in obvious pain and I made to lift him up so that he could sit but he gestured for me to stop. "Josh. Josh, it's his back." I cried and Josh swam his way over to us. He gently and slowly lifted his dad's back from the right and saw the damage. A piece of rock had been lodged into his back. My heart filled with dread as I realised what it meant.

"I can't breathe." Frank said, with small shallow breaths.

"Hey, easy. Everything will be okay." I whispered. Josh made to take out the rock but when I saw the amount of blood flowing out I caught his hand. "No, Josh. Don't. It'll only make it more painful."

Josh looked distressed and tears starting flowing down my cheeks. "You both…listen to me." Frank gasped out. "Trust the cave. Trust it. Follow the river and it'll lead straight out. You here?" Frank said to us.

"What? No, dad we can still make it. With you." Josh cried out. I let out a sob and Frank squeezed my hand.

"He killed Victoria, Darya! He killed everyone!" Carl shouted and I looked over at him. Josh got up and clenched his fists.

"You take one step closer and I will fucking kill you." Josh ground out. "The only reason we're still breathing is because of him."

Carl let out some tears and looked around the cave. And then jumped into the water.

"Josh, leave him be." I called out to him and he quickly returned to his father's side.

"Josh…could you? Could you help me into the water?" Frank requested. I rushed to Josh's side and helped him carry Frank towards the water into it. Both of us held him afloat. "Josh, you've got better instinct then me, so you better listen to it." Frank said.

Frank wrapped his arms around his mid-section and held on tight. I caressed his head, knowing that it wouldn't ease the pain, but there really was nothing else to do.

"Dad, I'm not leaving. No!" Josh argued.

"Josh, can you help me." Frank asked and I knew what he was suggesting. "I don't want this to take too long."

"No, no, no, no. No!" Josh said a bit forcefully but then broke down. I held onto his hand which held Frank's body afloat and squeezed.

"It's alright, son. It's going to be okay." A sob broke out and I started to cry uncontrollably. Frank turned his head slightly towards me and rested his hand at my cheek. "Hey, it'll be okay, Darya. It'll be okay." I shook my head and held his hand. "Just promise me something."

"Anything." I whispered.

"Take care of Josh. Both of you. Take care of each other." I nodded and sniffed.

"Dad, I'll stay with you."

"Hey, no. You stay and you die. Both of you need to get out now. Just, please help me." Josh squeezed my hand and I knew this was going to be hard. "I'm so proud of you Josh. Please help me." And we were submerged in darkness once again. The fire had fizzled out.

I reached for the green light tube and bent it. Soon we had enough light to make out each other. Josh let go of my hand and Frank gave him a pained smile. I moved out of the way and turned my back towards them. I placed my hand over my mouth to control the sobs that were threatening to let loose.

Josh placed both hands on his father's chest and submerged him underwater. There was little resistance but then all was quiet. I turned around to find Josh kissing his father's forehead and letting the body float away from him. He looked up at me and broke down in sobs. I swam over to him and held him close. He cried into my shoulder while I gently rubbed up and down his back. I held him tight for sometime before the light once again went out. I reached out for the other light, "Josh, this is the last one. We need to get out of here. I'll get the oxygen tank and then we'll do exactly as your dad said. Okay?" He just nodded and wiped away the tears. I handed him the oxygen tank. He held my hand and then we both dove into the water.

With the light on we could make out where we were swimming. Swimming was second nature to me. I could do this and Josh and I could be out of here before we knew it. We took turns taking oxygen in from the tank but stop ourselves from taking more than one every time we stopped. My legs and arms hurt from all the physical excursions we had done the whole time but I pushed on. No way was I going to let water beat me. Swimming was what I grew up with.

Once we got out of the squeeze, Josh holding my hand through out, we saw a body. It was Carl. Josh didn't let me linger because he knew I would panic, so we quickly swam away. But it was then when the oxygen tank finished and we needed to take in air. I looked over at Josh and then around me. We would never get there in time. We needed air. And then because someone was having a right laugh at us, the light also went out. Josh pulled me close and switched on the light on the boar tooth. Thankfully we had enough light to see. Josh looked over at me connected his mouth to mine so that we could share whatever oxygen we had left.

We swam along the ceiling of the cave, looking for open spots. Upon finding some, Josh signaled at me to connect my mouth and take a deep breath. We moved along the whole way like this. Taking deep breaths along the way.

Not far from us, I saw light make its way in. I quickly turned towards Josh, only to find him floating, his eyes closed. My heart beat faster and kicked my legs harder to get to him in time. I checked his pulse upon reaching him and he still had one. Gently shaking his head from side to side I tried to help him regain consciousness. When he didn't respond, I knew there was only one way. I took a hold of arm, held on tight and started swimming towards the surface. Even though it was close, it still wasn't close enough what with Josh's weight added to mine.

As we got closer the light got brighter and I felt Josh move. I looked towards him and saw his eyes flutter open. I smiled in relief, as he took a hold of my hand. He too saw the light and how close we were. I felt my lungs constrict and it dawned on me that we had to get out fast.

We kicked harder than before. I had passed my exhaustion level but this needed to be done. And then we broke out to the surface, gasping for air.

I coughed at the sudden intake of air and heard Josh coughing besides me. We had made it out of the cave and as luck would have it, there was shore nearby as well. We swam slowly until we finally reached shore. I collapsed on the warm sand and stared out at the burning sun. Josh collapsed next to me, breathing heavily.

"Don't mind me. I'm going to sleep till forever." I joked and looked over to Josh. He was quiet and I knew why. I pushed myself towards him and lay against his chest. His hand came to rest against me and kissed his knuckles, "Hey. It's okay now. He'd be so proud of you."

I felt him shift and looked up at him. He lowered his head and captured my lips in a chaste kiss, "I know."

**Hey guys! And with that said, i bring you the end of this story. Its been awesome writing this and sharing it with all of you. Your reviews have been amazing! The prospect of the story excited me so much that i had finished days early then it would have taken me usually. **

**Thank you!**


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